Moreover, the entry threshold is extremely low.

Government officials often need to handle various trivial matters, and when they are short of manpower, they can only quickly find people from the general public.

Therefore, minor officials like constables are indispensable.

However, the constables' income was very low, so they could only rely on this job to abuse their power for personal gain and earn extra money.

During the reign of Emperor Shenzong, reforms were implemented, including paying salaries to constables, which slightly alleviated the chaos caused by constables causing trouble. However, this led to many people taking shortcuts to become constables and maliciously receiving salaries without working.

During the reign of Emperor Zhao Huan, the imperial court's control over local areas shifted from meticulous assessments to a system of target responsibility.

This means that the central government issues annual targets, and local governments create their own tax revenues. The central government no longer allocates funds arbitrarily, except in special cases.

Local governments, being self-sufficient, naturally exercised restraint in personnel matters.

After more than a decade of reforms, the constables have been formally incorporated into the official ranks, and the chaos has been greatly reduced.

The constables were moving very fast, as if they were there to arrest someone.

In front of the ancient temple stood a young monk, his hands clasped together: "Amitabha, this is a pure Buddhist temple. What brings you here, benefactor?"

The head constable said, "We're here to arrest someone; a fugitive has escaped here!"

“Benefactor, if there were any fugitives here, the abbot would surely have already taken them to the authorities.”

“We say there are fugitives here, and there are fugitives here! We have a search warrant personally issued by the county magistrate!”

After saying that, the constable shoved the little monk away fiercely and forced his way inside.

This piqued Zhao Huan's interest.

This was the first time Zhao Huan had ever seen the Song Dynasty's constables arresting people.

After a while, Zhao Huan heard the sounds of fighting coming from inside.

Zhao Huan glanced at Han Shizhong and said, "Let's go in and take a look."